“Hank Williams and Hank Junior have covered the country world as best as it can be covered,” said the younger Williams’ of his famous bloodline. “If I was just a country singer I don’t think I would have gotten the respect of people like Henry Rollins of Black Flag or Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys. I think even people in the country world can see that I’ve stayed true to myself,” he said by phone from his ranch in Nashville, Tenn. “I’ve always loved different kinds of music. I think it sets me apart.”
Still, it would have been easy for the musician to cash on his legendary last name.
“Yeah, there were some suggestions,” Williams revealed. “The easy road would have been to work with some famous Nashville producer, do what they told me to do, and make tons of money.”
As a matter of fact, the musician’s first CD, “Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts,” signaled a turn in that very direction. The 1996 mainstream country release brought the voices of all three generations of Williams men together through modern technology. Hank 3 has been distancing himself from it ever since.
“Even though I’m not famous or making that much money, I like being independent,” he said.
That kind of determination has put Hank 3 on a rather unconventional career path. In the country music genre, he’s recorded such fittingly named albums as “Risin’ Outlaw” and “Damn, Right, Rebel Proud.” The material includes an amped up, attitude driven version of rockabilly, that Williams dubs “Hellbilly.” The musician, who plays the NorVa on Wednesday, has also been a punk rock drummer and a heavy metal bass player. He says the seemingly disparate genres are not mutually exclusive.
“There’s a lot of connection there,” he maintained. “I think the barriers have been broken down over the years and people are a little more open.”
Williams, 39, offers up a few of his musical influences as evidence.
“Just look at someone as big as Willie Nelson. Nashville told him we don’t like your sound and we don’t like your look. Well, he moved to Texas and started getting bikers and hippies and all kinds of different fans. David Allan Coe was singing about long haired rednecks. There’s a bunch of people that love Johnny Cash and Hank Williams who also love Pantera and heavy metal.”
Note the absence of any references to mainstream country in Hank 3’s discussion.
“Everything is so clean and pretty and perfect.” Williams is unapologetically the opposite. “I’ve been known to cuss,” he said. “I sing about drinking and raising hell but my main goal is to make people forget about their problems. I want people to have a good time.”
That attitude has awarded Williams a loyal fan base and it’s something he derives much satisfaction from.
“A lot of musicians nowadays just show up two minutes before they play and when they’re done, they’re outta there. I take pride in the old country way of shaking hands and thanking the people that are there for you.”
Creating a bond with fans he said, is the best part of his job.
“The biggest payoff is when someone tells you how your music has helped them or affected them in some way.”
When Hank 3 performs in Norfolk, he’ll have plenty of new material to draw from. Last fall the musician released four albums simultaneously. “Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown,” is a double disc of outlaw country and swagger packed “Hellbilly.” “Attention Deficit Domination” features a grinding metal sound reminiscent of Black Sabbath, and the unusual “3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’” is a concoction Williams calls “cattle-core;” speed metal mixed with the voices of actual livestock auctioneers.
Hank 3 will perform separate sets of each genre.
“I’m basically opening up for myself,” he laughed. “You don’t have to stay for all of it but I always pay respect to my deepest roots first,” he added. “No matter what, the first set is always the country part of the show, then it’s the “Hellbilly,” and then the rock.” While he may not be as well-known as his forebears, Williams seems content. “If anything happened to me tomorrow I’d feel like I’m satisfied,” he said. “I played with some of my biggest heroes in the rock world and the country world. I’ve had great audiences and I have quite a few records out there. I think some people would say that kid was a true artist and did things his own way.”
No comments:
Post a Comment